Furnace regenerator system



Nov. 7, 1939. w. J. IRWN &178.794

FURNACE REGENERATOR SYSTEM Fi] .ed March l, 1938 l weizlc' MAL/,GM J. few/N,

Patented Nov. 7, 1939 4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FURNACE REGENERATOR SYSTEM William J. Irwin, Wilkinsburg, Pa. Application March 1, 1938, Serial No. 193357 Claims. (c. 263-155) This invention relates to furnace regenerators and is intended to effect a more uniform flow of the products of combustion through the same, particularly in those instances where a plurality 5 of regenerators work in parallel at one end of a furnace.

A'specific example of the invention as applied to an open-hearth metallurgical furnace is illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of th'e furnace;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section through the regenerators and the flues extending from the same to the furnace and the stack;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section taken from the line III-III in Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section taken from the line IV-IV in Figure 2.

Since the regenerators are similarly arranged at opposite ends of the furnace and these opposite ends are the same, the drawing includes only one of the furnace ends and the two regenerators at this end.

More specifically, the furnaceheating chamber l connects by way of gas and airrports 2 'and 3, up-and-down-takes 4 and 5 and gas and air flues 6 and 1, with gas and air'regenerators 8 and 9. The flues 6 and 'I extend over the tops of the regenerators while flues I ll and I l lead from their bottoms to the usual stack.

` Both the flues ID and ll are suitably valved to provide the control necessary for reversing the umace. The details of this are not described because the present invention is particularly concemed with the flows of the products of combustion through the two regenerators to the stack rather than with the reverse flows of gas and air to the furnace, the problem of efiecting uniform flows through regenerators being more serious when the regenerators are handling the products of combustion.

The regenerators 8 and 9 are featured by the fact that they converge toward the up-and-downtakes 4 and 5 which are necessarily closely arranged because the gas and air must be injected into a localized portion of the furnace. 'The flues also converge practically straight from the regenerators to the up-and-down-takes. It follows that the products of combustion exhausting from the furnace by way of the up-and-downtakes are guided into flows which are substantially aligned centrally with the regenerators and therefore pass more uniformly through the latter. The flue 6 is commonly aligned with the regenerator 8. and by inclining the regenerator 9 respecting'the latter the flue 'I is much more nearly in alignment with the regenerator 9 than has heretofore been possible. Other arrange- `ments efiecting the described converging relato define a space which decreases in cross-sec-- tion'al area in this direction. Preferably, the e declination should be arranged so that the top of the flue almost closes the last row of passages at the stack end of the regenerator. To prevent the products of combustion being carried past the 15 regenerator passages at and near the furnace end, one or more downwardly angling steps I 2 are formed in the flue top at spaced positions over the top of this end of the regenerator. These tend to deflect the gaseous flow downwardly at 20 points where its velocity might otherwise carry it past these regenerator passages.

It is necessary to make the various flues from bricks and so their tops are arched to facilitate their Construction. It follows that normally the 25 height of the flues extending over 'the regenerator tops is not transversely uniform but is greatest along the longitudinal center of the regenerator, whereby there is a tendency towards centrally concentrated flows. This undesirable 30 efiect is to a large extent eliminated by shaping the-top of the regenerator to more nearly conform with the arched flue top, as is illustrated at 9 in Figure 4. With this arrangement the flue 'I has a substantially uniform height transversely of the regenerator top throughout the length of the latter. It may sometimes prove desirable to producethis efiect for only a part of the regenerator length.

The features under discussion are illustrated in 40 connection with the air regenerator only, but it is to be understood that they may be advantageously applied to the gas regenerator as well. Furthermore, the bottom of the flue Il beneath the regenerator &and also, if desired, the bot- 45 tom of the flue n beneath the regenerator 8, is provided with upwardly inclined steps I3 which function like the steps. i 2 when the regenerator is Operating reversely. v

Although a specific example of the invention is disclosed in accordance withthe patent statutes, it is not intended to thereby limit its scope, except to the extents defined by the appended claims.

I claim: 55

, space of substantially uniform height transverse-` 1. A regenerative iurnace including an up-anddown-take means, regenerators converging toward said means and fiues substantially aligned with said regenerators and extending substantially straight to said means, said fiues extending over the tops of said regenerators, and the top of at least one of said regenerators and the flue' associated 'therewith being shaped to provide a space of substantially uniform height transversaly of the last named regenerator.

2. A regenerative furnace including an up-anddown-take means, regenerators converging toward said means and fiues substantiaily aligned with said regenerators and extending substantiaily straight to said means, said fiues extending over the tops of said regenerators, and the top of at'least one of said regenerators and the flue associated therewith being shaped to provide a space of substantially uniform height transversely of the last named regenerator which decreases longitudinally toward the remote end of the latter.

3. A regenerative urnace including an up-anddown-take means, regenerators converging toward said means and fiues substantialiy aiigned with 'said regenerators and extending substantially straight to said means, said fiues extending over the tops of said regenerators, and the top of at least one of said regenerators and the fiue associated therewith being shaped to provide a ly of the last named regenerator which decreases iongitudinally toward the remote end of the latter, said fiue associated therewith providing at 2,17839&

least one declination over the top of the end of said regenerator where products of combustion from said furnace are initially introduced.

4. A regenerative urnace including an up-anddown-take' means, regenerators converging toward said means and fiues substantially aligned with said regenerators and extending substantially straight toward said means, said fiues extending over the tops of said regenerators, the top of at least one of said regenerators and the flie associated" therewith being transversely uneven in shape in such a manner that a rise in said regenerator top is beneath a rise in said fiue, said unevenness of said regenerator top being of such an extent as to appreciably reduce the cross-sectional area. of said flue at least at the remote end of said regenerator.

5. A regenerative furnace including an up-anddown-take means, regenerators converging toward said means and fiues substantially aligned with said regenerators and extending substantiaily straight toward said means, said fiues extnding over the tops of said regenerators, the top of at least one of said regenerators and the fiue associated therewith being transversely uneven in shape in' such a mannerthat' a rise in said regenerator top is beneath a rise in said fiue, said unevenness of said regenerator top being of such an extent as to appreciabiy reduce the 'cross-sectional area of said fiue at least' at the remote end of said regenerato'r; the crosssectional area of said flue decreasinggradualiy toward the remote end of said regenerator.

WILLIAM J. 

